Anu reveals her sunny side

The name of her first book would be a perfect caption to a picture of her face. Anu Hasan turns, as someone calls her name, with a big smile — or perhaps sunny is a better prefix, that’s the title of her book — Sunny Side Up. She walks through the lobby of Hotel Taj by Vivanta in Thiruvananthapuram, looking no different from the title character she played in Indira 20 years ago, speaking freely to everyone who goes to her, some to talk, some to click photos with her.

She’s got a session to take on being a successful woman, at the national conference for women police. Anu, with her multiple hats as an entrepreneur, an actor, a writer, a talk show host, and an author, has quite a lot to talk about success, and about being a woman.

Even as we speak, she goes on air for her BBC One soap opera EastEnders. She is settled in the UK and plays Aunt Fatima in the show. In Thiruvananthapuram, she has come to shoot for her new Malayalam film Vaakku.

Anu plays a Tamil woman from Thengasi, and the wife of the lead character, played by director M.A. Nishad. The movie is directed by Sujith, and the cinematography is by Madhu Ambat. “I tell everyone in the sets to speak to me in Malayalam. Two things can come out of that, either I will learn Malayalam or else you will forget it,” says Anu with her characteristic humour. This will be her second Malayalam film. Her first, Kunthapura, had come out in four languages including Malayalam, Tamil, Kannada and English.

“Every time I come to Kerala for work and have not seen the place much, but it is so lush and green that I keep throwing kisses at the countryside. I love England and I think Kerala competes with England for beauty.”

This burst of positivity in every line she says, had earned her the name Thanjavur bommai from her mother. “It would not only sway but fall to one side and then spring right back up.”

It is not that she hadn’t had her share of struggles, she just happens to take the best out of it. Anu, who has been writing articles for the Just for Women magazine, thought one day that she should collect all of those, add more material and bring out a book. That’s how Sunny Side Up came out. Now a sequel to it, and another book on romance are in her kitty but she has to find time to start writing. “Even now I have two films waiting.”

But when she talks about being a successful woman, she is not going to compare men and women. “That is like comparing apples and oranges. We are different, let’s celebrate the difference.” There is no need to fight for inclusivity unless you feel excluded. “You go ahead and do what you want. It is often the forces from inside (of you) that stop you more than the forces from outside.”

She also insists that being strong doesn’t mean being rough. “You can be soft and strong, you can be confident without being arrogant and assertive without being aggressive.” You shouldn’t, she says, let the small transgressions pass. She was once jogging through the roads of Chennai and four guys in a car passed comments, first on her being the niece of Kamal Haasan and the second time on her talk show Koffee with Anu. The third time she confronted them. And that stopped them.

This tag that her last name brings does not bother her at all. “I am proud of being the niece of Kamal Haasan, the cousin of Suhasini, the sister-in-law of Mani Ratnam and now the cousin of Shruti. But in my heart, I am me. Someone who calls me expecting what my family could do, will be disappointed, because I will be me.”

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